By Sowmya Narasimhan

Do you have a hard time sticking to a productivity system and in deciding what to work on at any given time?

Does your to-do list make you feel overwhelmed?

If yes, all you can do is “Eat the frog”

Read on to find what it means and how this one trait can help you to be productive and successful.

How to “Eat the frog”?

In simple terms, “Eat the frog” means to choose one big important task for the day and do it first.

Firstly, you have to identify it. Decide what the most important task is for the day. 

It’s advisable to plan it the previous night so that you will know what to work on the next day.

You must know your priorities are, to identify your frog. 

As Mark twain quoted “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first”.

How does it help?

You may feel Eat the frog makes you focus on less when you can do more. But that’s not true. By following this method you’ll be making progress on something meaningful every day. This will eventually lead to a virtuous cycle of getting things done.

  • Your energy and willpower are high in the first hour of the morning. Hence when you prioritize the most important task to do in the morning you will be taking full advantage of your best work hours 
  • Since you will be focusing on one task at a time, you will also be able to indulge in it with greater enthusiasm and be prepared to embrace the challenges with a positive attitude. This will help you to stay away from distractions and avoid other less important jobs that disturb you.
  • Try planning out what your frog has to be the previous night. You can break a large task into smaller units and look into all the possibilities and perspectives. This technique will also help you to analyse a problem deeply and pertain to higher impact tasks.
  • Make a To-do list. Note down your frog for the day. You could perhaps use the Pomodoro technique and create a mind map that can guide you on your work. By doing so you will never lose track of your toad!

Eat the frog is for those people who overestimate what they can get done in a year and underestimate what they can do in a decade. You can use this simple technique to achieve your goals and be ahead-of-the-game.

Check out this amazing book written by Brian Tracy: Eat That Frog! -21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time.